SEPANG, Oct 6 (Bernama) -- The national padel squad made history in their debut at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games by securing a silver medal for the national contingent.
In the final match held on October 3, the national men's doubles pair, Christian Didier Chin and Aidan Khairuddin Yunus displayed great fighting spirit before ultimately conceding to the top-seeds from Qatar.
Reflecting on the arduous journey to the final, the duo acknowledged that they had to put up a fierce fight during the semi-finals.
"We fought with everything we had in the semi-final against Iran. We were on the verge of defeat and elimination, but we fought hard for the country, giving our best," the pair said upon their arrival at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) today.
Christian Didier noted, however, that their eagerness to pull off an upset in the final backfired as the national squad's lack of experience was punished by the composure and tactical brilliance of the Qatari brothers.
"To be honest, I was moved to tears out of pride that we made it to the final and had a shot at winning.
"While we were hungry for victory, our lack of experience meant the sibling pair was able to capitalise on that and punish us," they said.
The national pair lost 0-2 (3-6, 1-6) to the sibling duo of Mashari Naif and Rashed Naif, nevertheless, reaching the final in the debut of padel at Asia's largest multi-sport event is considered an extraordinary achievement.
The pair also drew attention for their unique backgrounds in different sports: Aidan comes from a squash background, while his teammate, Christian, is a former tennis player.
"I feel those backgrounds certainly helped, but it goes beyond that. It’s about our determination, confidence, and team spirit as well as how we collaborate, communicate, and support one another.
"Ultimately, I believe our success in securing the silver medal is a result of the support from all Malaysians," he said.
The national padel pair is determined to bounce back by setting their sights on the gold medal at the 2027 SEA Games.
Aidan said after settling for silver in their recent outing, the duo is now even more eager to conquer the Southeast Asian stage.
"Our target for the 2027 SEA Games is gold. Gold for Malaysia. Since we only secured silver this time, the goal for the next games must be gold," said the doubles pair representative when met.
Refusing to rest on their past achievements, the pair emphasised that their primary focus is now on rigorous physical and tactical preparation to ensure that dream becomes a reality.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian Padel Association (MPA) president, Tengku Datuk Seri Abu Bakar Ahmad Tan Sri Tengku Abdullah, described this success as a source of great pride, noting the challenging path the national team navigated in defeating several strong nations before reaching the final.
"We didn't expect to reach the final. The first match against Kazakhstan was quite tough because they had beaten Qatar's second pair, but *Alhamdulillah* (praise be to God), we managed to defeat them. After that, we faced the Philippines and then Iran—all of which are strong teams.
"I am extremely proud of the Malaysian team. They prepared thoroughly and played exceptionally well as a unit," he said.
Elaborating further, he noted that the national team entered the competition as underdogs; not only is the sport relatively new in the country, but the national doubles pairing had also only recently been formed.
"They haven't been playing together as a pair for long, only about three to four months. Alhamdulillah, they possess great synergy and chemistry, and they certainly have the potential to go far."
"Despite being under pressure, they managed to perform exceptionally well at that level," he said.
Following this historic achievement, he announced that the association and the athletes would soon hold a meeting with the National Sports Council (NSC).
"We have received a call from the NSC and will be meeting with them. The NSC wants to meet the association and the players to discuss the way forward and future plans following this medal win," he explained.
--BERNAMA